Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Got a call on Friday from an "IRS Agent". He informed me that I had been audited on my returns between 2008 and 2012. I was then informed that I had no right to appeal this and if I contacted a lawyer then the IRS would come at me with criminal charges, put a lien on my house, garnish my wages and more.

I told him that I've done my taxes with either Turbo Tax or H&R Block for those years and with Turbo Tax I paid for the audit defense. I told him, I want to know exactly which year specifically and what the issue was.

The "IRS Agent" said I could resolve everything today if I bought some sort of gov't green dot bonds and gave him the serial number of the bond for him to confirm and the associated PIN number with it. Then, after confirming everything, he would then arrange for me to sit down with a local IRS agent to discuss the issue.

Definitely sounded like a scam but he did have my name, address and phone number and seemed to know tax law so I asked him to call me back in 20 minutes. I needed to "contact" my bank.

Oh, his "name" was John Ryan . . . (Jack Ryan - Hunt for Red October - get it?) . . . did a quick google search of his name, phone number and IRS and sure enough, it popped up as an IRS scam. So, now I've been calling him and harassing the heck out of this guy. If anyone receives a call from an IRS Agent calling himself John Ryan, beware . . .

Oh, his phone number - just in case anyone wants to call and "talk" to him - is: 202-241-7436.

John Ryan was probably in reality the asshole actor pictured above, in need of funds.I'm told East Indian call centers utilize the same familiar name' ploy. One friend got a babu accented rep named Tom Cruise!

thanks for the info. just got the call, asian accent, searched for the number and got your webpage. I knew it was a scam because the IRS would have sent a letter regarding any audit. Wonder how many old people he has scammed. I am thinking about taking my DC cop friend and showing up at his door.

Since I'm very selective about the calls I answer, unknown numbers get to leave a message. The call I got from the "IRS" was a computer generated woman's voice telling me I needed to contact them ASAP. IIRC the number was from Northern Cali. If I was to get a call from the IRS, it would more than likely come from their Kansas City office since that's where I send in my taxes.

I got one of those calls - from the automated dialer with a woman's voice informing me....yada yada yada.

The phone number back traced to one of those pre-paid cell phones that you can buy at the grocery store. They had registered the phone in the name of a mid-level manager at the IRS, presumably to make the call seem more authentic.

The real IRS starts with a letter, then a phone call from their office, and then a visit.